Hualapai Indian Reservation Research Articles

Assessing the Feasibility of Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting for Food Production in Northwestern Arizona on the Hualapai Indian Reservation

With the uncertainties of climate change and the persistence of droughts in the Southwestern US, finding additional renewable water resources is crucial to ensure safe drinking water and attain food security in rural and tribal communities. Rainwater harvesting (RWH), the practice of centralizing, collecting, and storing rainwater for later use, has the potential to help alleviate some water stresses in these communities. Although RWH is not a new concept, it has not been widely practiced in arid and semi-arid environments in the United States. This study assessed the feasibility of rooftop RHW at a small scale, in Peach Springs, Arizona, on the Hualapai Indian Reservation. Working alongside the Federally Recognized Tribal Extension Program (FRTEP) agent for the Hualapai Tribe, this study considered RWH from four prospective buildings to supplement irrigation practices for food production. Due to high standard deviation and coefficient of variation values, annual precipitation amounts were classified into normal, dry, and wet years to assess variability over the last 40 water years. An average total of ~29,285 L could be collected from one of the buildings considered for RWH during the growing season of April to September during a classified normal year. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) AquaCrop model was used to determine the area that can be cultivated with four staple crops, maize, tomatoes, dry beans, and sunflowers, which are currently being grown in the community garden, solely using the captured rainwater. Cultivable areas range from 8.7 m2 to 71 m2 depending on the catchment size, crop, and classified precipitation year—a wet, dry, or normal precipitation year. A total of 81.2 kg of dry corn could be harvested during a normal precipitation year, solely using the collected rainwater from one of the buildings.

A New Springsnail (Hydrobiidae:Pyrgulopsis) from the Lower Colorado River Basin, Northwestern Arizona

We describe a new springsnail species, Pyrgulopsis hualapaiensis, from the Lower Colorado River basin (northwestern Arizona) that has an ovate- to narrow-conic shell and narrow penis ornamented with a small gland on the distal edge of the lobe. This new species differs from closely similar congeners from the Lower Colorado River basin in several details of female reproductive anatomy and in its mtCOI haplotype (3.0%–5.0% mean sequence divergence). Bayesian, maximum parsimony, and distance-based phylogenetic analyses of COI data congruently resolved P. hualapaiensis as sister to a divergent lineage of Pyrgulopsis thompsoni in the middle Gila River watershed (southeastern Arizona), although this relationship was not well supported. Pyrgulopsis hualapaiensis is endemic to a spring complex in the Hualapai Indian Reservation that is a culturally sensitive site for the tribe. The small population of these snails appears to be robust despite recent habitat modifications (trenching of outflow and construction of a spring box) and disturbance from road traffic. Future conservation measures could include monitoring of the population and augmentation of the gravel habitat used by these snails.

IS THERE A GENETIC BASIS FOR ANTLER AND PEDICLE MALFORMATIONS IN REINTRODUCED ELK IN NORTHERN ARIZONA?

Abstract Morphological abnormalities can be associated with inbreeding depression or heritability in natural populations. We explored a genetic basis for antler and pedicle deformities documented in a population of reintroduced elk (Cervus elaphus) on the Hualapai Indian Reservation in northwestern Arizona. We used 12 microsatellite loci to compare individual multi-locus heterozygosity (IH) and internal relatedness (IR) between bull elk with antler malformations (n = 23) and individuals with normal antler conformation (n = 17). Additionally, we used 3 pairwise relatedness coefficients to determine whether males with deformed antlers were more closely related than males with normal antlers. Mean IH and mean IR were not significantly higher for the group with deformed antlers. Similarly, the relationship between antler malformations and pairwise relatedness also was not significant, suggesting that deformed males did not share the antler trait because of a closer genetic relationship. Other factors, such as...

ABNORMAL ANTLERS AND PEDICLES ON ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK IN NORTHERN ARIZONA

Abstract Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) bearing malformed antlers have been observed in northern Arizona during the last 10 years. We collected measurements from 28 skulls of bulls bearing abnormal antlers from the Hualapai Indian Reservation in northwestern Arizona. Most abnormalities were unilateral. Deformed antlers were smaller and had fewer points than normal ones, and originated from deformed pedicles. The abnormal pedicles tended to be larger, and varied in orientation and location relative to normal pedicles. Some males lacked pedicles on 1 side, and the deformed antlers originated directly from the frontal bones. Similar antler and pedicle abnormalities have been documented in other elk populations in northern Arizona. The appearance of the abnormal pedicles was consistent with fracture and subsequent repair of the bones. Such damage might be incurred during sparring among males, and multiple factors might predispose the pedicles to injury.

ABSTRACT: Reservoir Characterization, Paleoenvironment, and Paleogeomorphology of the Mississippian Redwall Limestone Paleokarst, Hualapai Indian Reservation, Grand Canyon Area, Arizona

ABSTRACT: Reservoir Characterization, Paleoenvironment, and Paleogeomorphology of the Mississippian Redwall Limestone Paleokarst, Hualapai Indian Reservation, Grand Canyon Area, Arizona

On newly discovered meteoric irons from the Wallapai (Hualapai) Indian Reservation, Arizona

On newly discovered meteoric irons from the Wallapai (Hualapai) Indian Reservation, Arizona